Toshiba joined the fray Tuesday with the announcement of two new notebooks, the Portégé X30 and the Tecra X40. The two new machines are both thin and light standard notebooks, with the Portégé X30 in the 13.3-inch class and the 14-inch Tecra X40 representing Toshiba’s entry into the thin-bezel movement.
Carl Pinto, Toshiba’s vice president of marketing and product development for its Client Solutions Division, described the new machines, saying, “The Portégé X30 and Tecra X40 are the latest examples of our ability to innovative the thin and light notebook form factor without sacrificing performance, features, battery life, or durability. We are confident the collection of features and technologies found in these notebooks will satisfy the needs of the modern mobile computing user.”
The Portégé X30 is 15.9mm thick and weighs 2.3 pounds, making the 13.3-inch machine 11-percent thinner and 13-percent lighter than the previous model. The Tecra X40 is also quite thin at 16.9mm, and it’s also light at 2.76 pounds. Not only are the machines similar in overall dimensions, they share many of the same components and features.
Both the Portégé X30 and Tecra X40 sport seventh-generation Intel Core processors, run Windows 10 Pro, and offer the same Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution screens. Wireless connectivity is provided by Intel 802.11ac Wi-Fi, while wired connectivity for both machines includes two USB Type-C connections with power delivery and Thunderbolt 3 support, a USB 3.0 port, HDMI connector, and a microSD card slot.
Both machines also enjoy Windows 10 Hello support via both facial recognition and fingerprint scanners. Facial recognition is provided by standard infrared cameras, and the machines also incorporate touchpads with built-in fingerprint sensors via Synaptics’ SecurePad with Natural ID. Taken together, the Portégé X30 and Tecra X40 offer some serious flexibility in using Windows Hello to log in without a password.
Finally, both machines incorporate scratch-resistant magnesium-alloy chassis and Toshiba’s shock-absorbent TouchBody design that includes the company’s unique honeycomb reinforcement. They are also the same color, Onyx Blue.
In addition to the new machines, Toshiba also announced the availability of the Portégé X20W 2-in-1 that was previously introduced during the CES event. The 12.5-inch Windows 10, 360-degree convertible uses a Full HD display with Gorilla Glass 4 and supports Toshiba’s TruPen Wacom-based pen technology.
The company is also updating a number of existing notebooks with Intel’s seventh-generation Core processors, dubbed Kaby Lake. The updates machines include the Portégé A30, the Tecra A40 and A50, the Tecra C40 and C50, and the Tecra Z50.
Pricing and availability for the Portégé X30 and Tecra X40 have not yet been announced. The Portégé X20W is available on Toshiba’s website starting at $1,200, and will be available from other retailers starting in February.
